Irving almost definitely wasn’t going to turn down a max-salary contract extension this summer, but there seemed to be a possibility he’d take fewer years to allow his escape sooner. At minimum, he could have waited until later in the offseason to see how Cleveland built its roster.

The Cavs and Kyrie Irving met in a Manhattan restaurant at one minute past midnight on July 1 — the first moment they could officially discuss signing a five-year, $90 million extension with their guard.

Owner Dan Gilbert and Griffin talked big picture, and it had to sound more like a wild dream to Irving.

The Cavs would add Love and James. It really, really could happen, they insisted.

Really, Irving wondered.

Really, Gilbert and Griffin insisted.

“Kyrie bought in,” said Griffin. “That started everything. It created the momentum.”

On July 1, calling the Cavaliers signing LeBron James and trading for Kevin Love “far-fetched” would have been an understatement. It seemed downright impossible.

But Irving believed, and his confidence in the organization might have played a part in LeBron’s decision to trust the franchise he once spurned, which led to Love joining Cleveland.